How CSPMA Members Are Managing Peatlands Responsibly
In this three part series, Greenhouse Grower Content Specialist Marisa Reyes talks with Asha Hingorani, President of the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA), along with Stéphanie Boudreau, Vice President of Science and Research Partnerships, and Charleen McCartney, Communication Coordinator, about how the industry is balancing responsible peat extraction, long-term restoration, and science-based communication for generations to come.
(L to R) Asha Hingorani, Charleen McCartney, and Stéphanie Boudreau. | Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA)
Click here to read Part 1 and stay tuned for Part 3.
Sustainability & Restoration
Marisa Reyes: Could you walk me through CSPMA’s approach to responsible peat extraction and restoration? What best practices are emphasized?
Charleen McCartney: Canadian peat producers follow a regulated, science-based approach to peat extraction and restoration that prioritizes environmental protection and sustainable resource use. Peat operations in Canada are regulated by provincial governments, with permitting and oversight in place to ensure careful planning and minimized environmental impacts.
A key best practice for restoration is the use of the Moss Layer Transfer Technique — a method developed through decades of research in Canada, in collaboration between industry and expert scientists.
A key element is the Veriflora® Responsibly Managed Peatlands Certification, an independent, third-party program that goes beyond regulatory requirements. About 80% of Canadian horticultural peat production is certified. The standard covers the full life cycle of operations — planning, extraction, and post-extraction restoration — and sets rigorous criteria on ecosystem monitoring and protection, GHG inventories and reduction targets, energy efficiency, waste management, fair labor, and community engagement. Certified operations undergo regular third-party audits and reporting to verify compliance with these standards.
Examples of best practices include maintaining donor sites to support revegetation, monitoring and reducing energy use, and adopting new technologies to lessen environmental impacts, and these are just a few examples. Once extraction ends, sites are restored to functioning wetland ecosystems using proven, research-based techniques that allow them to return to carbon-accumulating landscapes over time — see CSPMA’s fact sheets on Peatland Science & Restoration, and GHGs.
This combination of provincial regulation, industry BMPs, and independent certification ensures responsible peatland management and continuous improvement across the sector. To learn more, visit CSPMA’s webpage on Responsible Peat Extraction.
Marisa Reyes: What percentage of the peatland footprint has been restored, reclaimed, or is awaiting restoration?
Stéphanie Boudreau: Canada’s peatlands span 119 million hectares, and the Canadian peat industry’s total historical footprint is 36,032 hectares, or less than 0.03% of that area. As of 2023, 60% of this footprint is in active extraction, while the remaining 40% has transitioned into post-extraction phases. Of the post-extraction areas:
- 55% had been restored to ensure the long-term regeneration of peatland ecosystems.
- 17% had been reclaimed for other uses, such as agriculture or forested habitats, when restoration is not feasible.
- 28% had been transitioned out of extraction without intervention, which includes sites awaiting restoration and sites where peat was extracted prior to modern regulations implementing restoration obligations.
The Canadian peat industry is actively restoring post-extraction sites to functioning ecosystems, focusing on biodiversity, hydrology, and carbon sequestration. This is essential because restored peatlands can resume carbon storage within one to two decades, contributing meaningfully to climate and biodiversity goals.
Marisa Reyes: How does CSPMA monitor and ensure ecological integrity in restored areas?
Stéphanie Boudreau: CSPMA ensures ecological integrity in restored areas through long-term, science-based monitoring programs developed in partnership with academic researchers for more than 30 years. Since 1992, the industry has invested more than $20 million in collaborative research with NSERC and universities, helping to develop leading restoration techniques and establish one of the most extensive peatland restoration monitoring networks in the world.
More than 125 restored sites across Canada have been monitored for more than 27 years, providing robust data on key ecological indicators such as vegetation re-establishment, hydrological recovery, and carbon sequestration. These indicators are used to assess whether restored sites are following successful successional trajectories and returning to functioning wetland ecosystems.
This long-term, research-driven approach is unique in Canada, where there is no national program equivalent to initiatives like the U.S. Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. It has allowed the industry to refine restoration techniques, like the moss layer transfer technique, and to proactively manage peatlands based on scientific evidence, ensuring restored areas regain their ecological functions over time.
Marisa Reyes: What are the biggest barriers your members face in restoration?
Stéphanie Boudreau: The primary challenge for peatland restoration is weather, as operators rely on specific conditions, such as dry periods, to carry out restoration activities successfully. For example, a season that is too wet can delay site preparation or the application of restoration techniques like moss layer transfer. Beyond weather and materials, there are few barriers.
Restoration is a legal obligation, and restoration is planned with funds are set aside in advance to ensure restoration is completed once extraction ends. Best practices, technical knowledge, and regulatory requirements are well established, so restoration is integrated into operations rather than being an unexpected hurdle.
This approach ensures that restored sites can achieve ecological function efficiently, even if weather occasionally affects timing.
Carbon & Climate Considerations
Marisa Reyes: How does CSPMA account for carbon emissions related to peat extraction, processing, and transport?
Stéphanie Boudreau: First, certified companies are required to complete annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and have reduction plans in place. To support this, the industry jointly developed a dedicated GHG calculator, in collaboration with Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). This tool integrates the most recent emission factors, which are derived from ongoing scientific research conducted with our academic partners. In this way, the research and operational data continuously inform each other — field studies help refine emission factors, which in turn improve the accuracy of company-level inventories.
Second, at the industry level, the association has conducted three Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies of horticultural peat — in 2006, 2010, and 2016. These studies have shown that transportation represents a significant share of the overall climate impact, particularly given that a large portion of Canadian peat is exported to the U.S.
Marisa Reyes: What role does peat decomposition (post-harvest) play in the life cycle emissions profile?
Stéphanie Boudreau: Yes, decomposition after harvest is indeed one of the largest contributors to life cycle emissions — second only to transportation in most studies. However, traditional Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and national greenhouse gas inventories, such as Canada’s National Inventory Report, have typically assumed that 100% of the carbon in peat is released to the atmosphere within the first year of use.
That’s not the case. Research indicates that decomposition occurs much more gradually — on the order of about 5% per year or less — and strongly depends on how the peat-based product is used and disposed. For example, when peat is used in perennial plant production and later incorporated into garden soil, much of its carbon remains stored in the soil for years. Similarly, in greenhouse operations, used substrates are often reused as compost ingredients, improving water retention and organic content rather than releasing all their carbon immediately.
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